Billy Corgan working on 26 new songs

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has revealed he has 26 songs ''in various states of completion'' as he continues to work in the studio on his next project.

Billy Corgan is working on 26 new songs as he rediscovers his love for guitar-based music.

The Smashing Pumpkins rocker - whose 2017 solo album 'Ogilala' heavily feature piano, strings and a more acoustic sound - has opened up on his time in the studio as he continues to leave fans in the dark about whether it will be another solo project or a reunion of the 'Tonight, Tonight' group.

Taking to social media over the weekend, he wrote: ''Ok, I misspoke. Today wasn't the last day in studio. More work ahead (lyrics, vocals, strings).

''Which I guess means something like 26 songs currently in various states of completion, production, insanity. But honestly, and I mean this from the heart, I'm very pleased to be this engaged with making new music at this point in my life.

''I started playing the guitar April 1, 1981, so almost 37 years later the colors remain vivid in my mind, there are still fresh (and dare I say provocative) subjects to address, and the guitar feels once again like the preferred weapon of choice. (sic)''

While Corgan appears to be leaning back towards his unique brand of rock music on the upcoming project - which could surface as a double LP - it comes after he claimed he felt David Bowie's presence while working on his previous effort.

The 50-year-old musician felt the presence of his late friend - who died of cancer, aged 69, in January 2016 - while he was in the recording studio working on 'Zowie', a tribute track to the 'Jean Genie' hitmaker.

He said: ''When I was writing the song, the opening chord sequence reminded me of, like, the kind of chords David [would use] ... he'd do a lot of weird inversions.

''He was just in the air and so he kind of rode shotgun with me when I was writing this song.''